Jamal Khashoggi was assassinated to silence his voice as a prominent critic of Saudi Arabia. Moving to the U.S. in June 2017, after being banned by the Saudis for criticizing President Trump, Khashoggi was eventually hired by the Washington Post in September of the same year. As a journalist in the U.S., Khashoggi became a Virginia resident and a prominent commentator on the Saudi monarchy and their disastrous war in Yemen, which has left over eight million at risk of famine.

Two weeks ago the Virginia-based journalist was lured into the Saudi Arabian diplomatic consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. He was never seen again. According to Turkish intelligence reports, he was dispatched via Saudi operatives, dismembered, and then disavowed. Only after intense public outcry from the international community and media have the Saudis hinted that it was a possible “interrogation gone wrong.” Even by today’s frayed international norms, assassinating a journalist at a diplomatic consulate is dark — so very dark.

Jamal Khashoggi

While the Saudis continue to obfuscate and misdirect (in the face of U.S. silence), the Turkish government has investigated, and released intelligence reporting that shows Khashoggi was detained within minutes of entering the consulate. Officials have then said the journalist was tortured, and that his fingers and head were eventually severed from his body. The New York Times has also reported that the Saudi operatives included a “doctor of forensics,” who helped with Khashoggi’s dismemberment.

So very dark.

For anyone who has ever been involved in Middle East politics, this move by Saudi Arabia should come as no real surprise. They are a fascist country run by a religious monarchy. What is surprising is that the Saudis, for the first time, are truly experiencing international isolation, pressure, and condemnation. Which is also novel, since the scourge of Sunni-based international terrorism, including al-Qaeda, the Islamic State, and the Taliban, can be linked back to their involvement, funding, and religious ideology.

Remember that time 15 of the 19 September 11th hijackers were Saudi? You should.

Yet when you are the world’s leading global exporter of oil, buy copious amounts of weapons from the U.S. for use in a disastrous civil war in Yemen, and pretend to be the bulwark against Iranian regional aggression, then all things can apparently be forgiven. Except this — maybe.

This is why the killing of Khashoggi has caused such a global uproar. Even Senators like Lindsey Graham have broken ranks with Trump and urged him to “sanction the hell out of Saudi Arabia,” going so far as to say that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is at the center of this diplomatic crisis, has “gotta go.”

Global executives and CEOs have also pulled out of an economic confederate scheduled for Saudi Arabia next week. The Saudi attempt to rebrand their country’s image as a moderate desert kingdom, away from the despotic oil state it actually is, has now become impossible — not that Saudi Arabia had any real desire to ever become such a country; they just wanted the international community to think they were.

However, brutally assassinating a journalist at a diplomatic consulate calls into question basic protections which are the foundations of global law and order. Whether they’re saying it aloud or not, political and business leaders understand that allowing this kind of behavior to go unchecked puts their own interests in danger. Especially since Trump has not signaled any willingness to side against Saudi Arabia, claiming that Khashoggi “was not an American citizen.” He’s even gone so far as to connect Saudi suspicion to the outcry over Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, telling the Associate Press, “You’re guilty until proven innocent.”

So very dark.

Instead of speaking against Saudi Arabia, the president is putting U.S. arms deals with the Saudis’ (around $4bn in 2017) ahead of human rights, press freedoms, and the protections afforded by a citizen’s diplomatic consulate. Yet the president’s concern with defense contracts and U.S. economy is little more than smoke and mirrors.

In truth, Trump doesn’t care. His antipathy towards the press is well known; his comment that Khashoggi might have been murdered by “rogue killers” supports this. And more than once on the campaign trail, he boasted about how many personal business deals he has with the Saudis. The Washington Post also found that Crown Prince Salman’s personal delegation boosted rental revenues at Trump’s New York hotel by 13 percent – the same Salman who’s denials Trump is taking at face value.

So very dark.

Unfortunately for the international community, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who met with Trump today and traveled to Saudi Arabia to address the growing crisis, is fully bound by whatever reaction Trump thinks is appropriate in the moment. The Washington Post reported yesterday that the U.S. and Saudi Arabia are now looking to “[seek] a mutually agreeable explanation for journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s death.” All of which amounts to diplomatic and political doublespeak, allowing the Saudis’ to save face, divest responsibility, and return to business as usual.

In his final column, Khashoggi wrote, “…the prominent Saudi writer Saleh al-Shehi wrote one of his most famous columns ever published in the Saudi press. He unfortunately is now serving an unwarranted five year prison sentence for supposed comments contrary to the Saudi establishment.” He finished this paragraph by saying, “These actions no longer carry the consequence of a backlash from the international community. Instead, these actions may trigger condemnation quickly followed by silence.”

For those of us concerned with anti-fascism, corruption, and how they connect to the creep of authoritarianism at a global level, Khashoggi’s words could not have proven more prescient. The U.S. (for the time being) still remains the indispensable nation that all other nations follow, warts and all. When we undermine our own fundamental values — diplomacy, press freedoms, and human rights — and exchange them in favor of a fascist religious monarchy, liberalism loses and authoritarianism wins, abroad and at home.

Khashoggi might find it ironic that his assassination has led to the kinds of condemnationand outrage he didn’t think was possible — but only just. Early this morning, Pompeo recommended that the U.S. give Saudi a few more days to “investigate” and “let the process play out.” By then, though, there won’t be any more blood to paint over inside the consulate.

Johnny Rotten, one of the original purveyors of all things punk, is, these days, apparently Making America Great Again (MAGA). The punk icon, who has been living in Los Angeles since the days of the Sex Pistols, was spotted ahead of a show in Louisiana wearing the dreaded MAGA shirt while hanging out of a window having a pre-gig smoke.

The Sex Pistols are one of the best known punk bands in the world. Their seminal album Never Mind the Bollocks Here’s the Sex Pistols, released in 1977, introduced the world to a searing, snotty, arrogant style of punk that revolutionized music and the social landscape that accompanied it. The Sex Pistols, fronted by Rotten, have been known for outrageous and provocative stunts throughout their storied career, like trolling the Queen of England during her Silver Jubilee (also in 1977) and band members wearing Nazi swastikas as part of the band’s branding — wearing a MAGA shirt seems mild by comparison.

The Daily Mail reported that during an interview with ITV Britain, Rotten spoke about President Trump, saying, “What I dislike is the left-wing media in America are trying to smear the bloke as a racist and that’s completely not true.” Telling a story about the time he pissed of the president by stepping on Melania Trump’s dress at a function in New York City, he said, “I have a habit in doing this, which I don’t do deliberately, but if women insist on wearing dresses that are ten miles long then I will accidentally put my foot on it… So I stood on his wife’s dress and he spun around and was giving it all the tough-guy stuff.”

Regardless of his antics, Rotten also claimed that his becoming an American citizen was partly influenced by the policies of then-President Barack Obama. Speaking to Noisey in 2015, the singer said, “Oh, I would’ve never done it during the Bush years. The way America presented itself abroad — as greedy, egotistical, violent monsters — was horrible.” He went on to say that America under Obama has the potential to be a “nation that actually cares for its afflicted and wounded and ill and disenfranchised.”

Bob Woodward is coming to VCU’s W.E. Singleton Center for the Performing Arts tonight to give a lecture on “Truth, Freedom of Expression, Democracy and the Age of the American Presidency.” For those who follow politics, pay attention to the president’s antics, and are aware enough to know, Woodward is the fucking man. A champion of exceptional journalism, Woodward is best known for his 1973 coverage of the Watergate scandal alongside fellow reporter Carl Bernstein. That reporting eventually let President Richard Nixon to resign.

As a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Woodward continues to attract international acclaim. He never misses an opportunity to document chaos or speak truth to power through the nation’s tragedies and complexity; from the 9-11 attacks and Hollywood’s drug culture, to the CIA’s secret intelligence wars, Woodward is there.

As an associate editor of The Washington Post, Woodward has covered the past eight presidents and authored or co-authored 18 books. His latest work: Fear: Trump in the White House – is a case study of “deep background,” based on interviews with Trump’s cabinet advisors, containing specific dates and an almost seamless timeline. It has created a blistering national dialogue. And with its revelations of silent hysteria inside the Trump White House, it might actually be the book to get young people involved enough in politics to start voting again.

Tonight, Woodward will undoubtedly discuss the role the press plays in these complex times and how the public understands this era of misinformation from the podium. And in an age where media is threatened by those in power and in which continuous hearsay masquerades as news, the power of Woodward’s pen and experience is needed now more than ever.

Trump Tweet on Woodward’s Book

Since his book was released, Woodward has been attacked by Trump and his proxies, who have called him “con of the public”, his book “nothing more than fabricated stories”, and according to Sarah Sanders, “the fear is coming from the Democrats.” His book clearly struck a nerve. And while it’s easy to laugh at the sight of Trump’s hapless crew putting out more fires than bills, they are still the ones in the White House.

As Max Boot, a veteran columnist for the Washington Post was quick to point out about Woodward’s book, “Even if Woodward doesn’t break ground in conceptual terms, he does provide damning new evidence to buttress what we already know — that after more than 18 months in office, Trump is just as unqualified as ever to be president.”

While most can agree problems exist with our government, the lack of public accountability remains our greatest problem. This is a symptom of the helplessness we all feel during this sketchy administration. Until we better understand our role in this new political reality, our role in bettering the democratic process will always be flimsy at best. Who better to give this lesson than one of them men who brought down another shitty president?

Woodward’s lecture will being at 6pm at the Singleton Center, with doors opening at 5pm. The event is free and open to the public. If the event is filled to capacity, video will be streamed to three overflow locations on campus — the James W. Black Music Center Recital Hall at 1015 Grove Ave., the James Branch Cabell Library’s Lecture Hall in Room 303 at 901 Park Ave. and Room 1164 of the T. Edward Temple Building, 901 W. Main St.

Fox News’ Tucker Carlson, the scourge of liberals everywhere, got into a heated exchange with Stormy Daniels’ lawyer, Michael Avenatti, on Thursday, disparaging Richmond’s strip club, The Papermoon; and thus disparaging all of Richmond in the process. The conservative blowhard, in the exchange with Daniels’ lawyer, said, “Stormy Daniels was to perform in Richmond, in a depressing strip club, this hero that you say you are protecting…why you are on television wearing expensive suits…why is she doing that?”

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Damn, things just got real.

Regardless of Carlson’s whataboutism, Avenatti spoke truth to power and simply replied with, “Because she wants too, Tucker. This is America, and guess what, if a woman wants to perform in a strip club she does so, even though people like you demean her.”

Damn, things just got real, real.

The exchange only gained velocity from there with Carlson throwing everything but the proverbial kitchen sink at Avenatti including calling him a “moralizer” – which is hilarious when your job is to defend President Trump on a daily basis – he also claimed that the lawyer cheated on his taxes – before eventually returning to shame Daniels’ once more by saying, “Your client is not thriving. For you to look me in the eye and say she wants to perform in strip clubs with people throwing stuff at her is insulting.” He went on to say the only women who strip are people who lack choice, or, ever the arbiter of a women’s moral character, because, “she likes it.” But the really outrageous bit in this whole tempestuous tete-a-tete is when Carlson doubles back to the River City to make that point, saying, “…I know she’s working in a strip club in Richmond.”

Avenatti, never one to miss a good rhetorical gut punch then asks Carlson, “Do you have that big of a problem with porn? When’s the last time you’ve [seen] porn?” Uncomfortable giggles abound before Avenatti, dead to rights, looks Carlson in the eye and asks, “Do you believe people who view porn should watch your show? Do you?”

Damn, things just got real, real, real.

At this point, the conversation has taken such a glorious turn for the salacious that Carlson finally admits, “I don’t even know how to answer that,” right before telling him that he is a fake feminist hero who should be ashamed for exploiting Daniels. Never to miss a chance to self-aggrandize, Carlson also makes it clear that the other channels might let Avenatti get away with this fake feminism, but Fox News never will.

Stormy Daniels is heading to Richmond, her next stop as she takes the nation’s clubs by storm with her “Make America Horny Again” tour, featuring a special performance of “Making Papermoon Great Again” at the Papermoon gentlemen’s club at their Southside location. Since the tour began in February, Daniels has been solidly booked with gigs running through mid-November and looks to give suburbanites a run for their fitbits. RVA Magazine caught up with Stormy to get a gist of the thunder clouds gathering over the city.

Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, said she was excited to return to Papermoon and Richmond. “Papermoon has always treated me well in the past,” she said. “I’ve performed at Papermoon a few times and always had a great time, so when they contacted my agent and asked to book me again, I, of course, said yes.”

For anyone not in the know, or glued to Fox & Friends, Daniels has been killing it in the news. At the center of President Trump’s unending list of scandals, Daniels is the zeitgeist of Trump’s “fake news” America. After rumors of an extramarital affair with Trump in 2006, Daniels has taken her involvement from the golf course to the courthouse, and is now suing to void a nondisclosure agreement she signed with Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, in early 2016. According to a report by NPR, Trump never signed the NDA agreement and with the recent ruling in the Cohen case, when the lawyer plead guilty to eight federal charges resulting from what he claimed were “direct orders from Trump,” Daniels 15 minutes have been given a weighty extension past the lens of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.

For her part, Daniels claims she’s making the most of it. “Obviously my workload has increased quite a bit, with added attention has come a lot more activity in general. And I’ve started up some new ventures in areas I never thought I would, like Truth, the line of perfume I launched this year, she said. “That said, with all the traveling and added pressures I’ve found it a lot more difficult to write scripts and focus on creative projects like the mainstream horror movie I’m working to direct and produce.”

And while most of well-minded America seemed to garner support for the performance artist, Daniels has been on her own to fend off internet trolls and right-wing armchair patriots. She says the key to this is simply not giving a fuck. “It helps that I’m a thousand times smarter than my trolls. Keyboard warriors aren’t that hard to outsmart if you just remember not to take anything personally,” Daniels said.

Many local journalists and activists are excited to attend the event. Papermoon spokesperson Mike Dickinson, known for his Twitter antics and former House of Delegates run as an independent, said all politicians are invited to attend, extending a special invitation to Rep. Dave Brat, R-7th, and Corey Stewart, the Republican challenger for Sen. Tim Kaine’s seat. And while Daniels is sure to be the main staple of the evening and the rest of the tour, her next step to success is to be in directing. “Success to me means being proud of your accomplishments in your chosen field and having the respect of your peers, comfortably being able to pay the rent and feed your family doesn’t hurt. Although performing is fun, I get much more satisfaction out of the creative process of directing,” Daniels said.

Prices range from $25-$500, depending on sections in General Admission, VIP Tables, and front row seating, if still available. Showtime begins Thurs., Sept. 13 at 8 pm and runs until 2 am. For more information and specifics on ticket availability, follow the link to Stormy’s event page.

*This event has been postponed due to Hurricane Florence and re-scheduled for December.

Anthropology is the study of humans, and what it means to be human. Given its interweaving lenses, you cannot study humanity without inevitably diving into the interplay of biology and culture. Because being human is both: We are biological organisms and products of evolution, just like any other species on the planet, yet we are the only species left who can create art, think symbolically, and create definitions of ourselves that are both identities and boundaries between groups.

As a professor, I never thought that I was being political when I taught anthropology courses. I always considered current anthropology to be mostly above politics.

Occasionally there would be a conflict when fundamentalist religion bumped into evolution. In states like Alabama, biology textbooks still came with an “evolution disclaimer” sticker affixed to the cover. This conflict rarely made it into my classroom though, because in some ways anthropologists teach it all: the biology, the culture, and the vast array of the human experience.

But the conversation and the classroom in 2018 feel different. And because of this, I now discuss Colin Kaepernick in my anthropology courses. Before we talk about Kaepernick, though, we have to put him in the middle of a conversation that many Americans may not be fully aware of.

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I have always taught that biologically, the categories of race that we define in the US aren’t real. But the cultural constructs we call races are very real, and very much influence the day to day lived experiences of the people in them. I never thought of this as political. The fact that racism in the U.S. means unequal access to resources, unequal health outcomes, unequal pay, among a myriad of other ongoing systemic issues was always just reality.

We all know the current political climate in the U.S. has changed things. Everything I teach is political now, because everything is political. Anthropologists, especially those doing applied work in the community, strive to be a voice of the marginalized and disenfranchised. Speaking about the lack of access to resources for members of our communities in the U.S., using data, facts, and long-term studies, suddenly place us at the end of a political spectrum that is somehow in opposition to what some of our country’s elected officials are trying to maintain.

These are examples of how culture and biology uniquely intersect in the U.S. and how our legacy of racism shapes who we are today.

Back to Kaepernick: I don’t teach about Kaepernick because he has become a political figure, I teach about him because he is an anthropological one.

When Kaepernick first started his peaceful protests during the national anthem in 2016, he became a cultural change agent in one of the most American spaces possible – football. In 1976, cultural anthropologists first described the popularity of American football in the framework of capitalism.

Football is popular because it requires what a successful capitalist way of life also requires, competition. Players and coaches who work the hardest and are the most spirited win. Football, therefore, intersects deeply with certain American economic and traditional values. Importantly for the conversation surrounding Kaepernick, the American ideal of a good football player is one who is diligent, dedicated, and denies his own self-interest for the good of the team.

This is not the first time sports and social justice have collided. Ten years before football was described this way, Muhammed Ali refused to be drafted into military service in protest against the Vietnam War. While his critics were never short of material, one statement was rarely, if ever, made: That Ali should fall in line because that’s what boxers shoulddo. There is no cultural expectation that boxers play by some great set of American rules. People forget that Ali was stripped of his titles and his case was eventually decided on by the Supreme Court.

Kaepernick draws attention to a very real American inequity while simultaneously bucking a sacred American ideal. This is anthropology at its core. And this is why taking a knee hits such a deep vein of discomfort with some Americans, and inspires others.

While we follow growing support and dissent for his voice, what we are also seeing is a wave of cultural change as American values shift and evolve to reflect the complexities of the 21st Century. This is what cultures have always done and will continue to do: develop and morph as the landscape of opportunities, and access to these opportunities, changes with them.

One of these complexities is that people of color die at the hands of law enforcement at a disproportionate rate compared to the rest of the population. Kaepernick chose to #TakeAKnee to highlight this disparity by using football as his platform. People objecting to anything that is outside the norms of group dynamics, the NFL included, is as old as culture itself.

I teach about these things not just because they are anthropology, but because they are unavoidable in the current political climate. And while the real concern is for the protection of communities who do not feel safe, there is another message that I want my anthropology students to take away when we talk about Kaepernick: that the power to change an entire culture can be found in just one person, and that they also have that power regardless of who they are or where they come from.